NASCAR National Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Daytona

Rain, tornado warnings, countless lightning strikes, and an impressive performance by Air Titan (who even received a Power Rankings vote) dominated Sunday’s Daytona proceedings. When Mother Nature finally let up, though more than six hours of waiting couldn’t keep Dale Earnhardt, Jr. from writing his name into the history books with a second Daytona 500 victory late Sunday night. Denny Hamlin finished second, only one position away from a weekend sweep after winning the Sprint Unlimited and his Duel. Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson completed the top 5.

The first 38 laps before the rain arrived were tame compared to the hard racing that would follow. Three-abreast, white-knuckle competition led to multiple cautions within the final 55 laps, including a last-lap, last-turn accident that collected a number of drivers racing inside the top 10. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray were just a few of those involved, while other crashes claimed fan favorites Danica Patrick and Kyle Larson. They weren’t the only ones ready to jump on the plane and fly from the Beach; engine issues plagued outside pole sitter Martin Truex, Jr. and Clint Bowyer while Tony Stewart spent a number of laps in the garage changing a fuel line.

How did all that chaos change how our experts voted? Find out while seeking your favorite driver’s rank, browsing our post-Daytona 500 poll before NASCAR’s new format and “normal” racing takes center stage at the one-mile oval in Phoenix this Sunday.

How The Rankings Are Calculated: Frontstretch does our power rankings similar to how the Associated Press does them for basketball or football. Our expert stable of NASCAR writers, both on staff and from other major publications will vote for the Top 20 on a 20-19-18-17… 3-2-1 basis, giving 20 points to their first-place driver, 19 for second, and so on. In the end, Mike Mehedin calculates the points, adds some funny one-liners, and… here you go!